Four things to know about Overwatch League Week 4

For NYXL and Spitfire, it was about bouncing back from their first losses of the season at the hands of Fusion and Uprising, respectively. For Dynasty, it was about regaining their footing after yet another surprising loss – this time, due to the scoreline rather than the opponent at the start of this week. Finally, some other teams kept themselves in the race for the Wildcard while others sealed their fate for Stage 1.

If you missed the matches, don’t worry. Here’s the major themes of the week to get you caught up, as well as some things to keep in mind as we dive into the final week of Stage 1:

Photo: Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment

Dynasty no more (kind of)

The biggest news of the week came from the fall of Seoul Dynasty out of the top two. That’s because of the new sheriff in town, the Spitfire, who stunned the world with a 4-0 sweep against whom many thought were the best in the league.

That’s the bad news, at least. The good news is that they (barely) managed to get the edge on the Houston Outlaws, which went the distance in one of the most exciting bouts yet. They’re also still the PAC Division Leaders; the two 7-1 teams (Spitfire and NYXL) are both in the ATL. The Los Angeles Valiant are 5-3 and currently second place in their division. That’s at least a silver lining.

Photo: Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment

4-0verwatch

For the first time in Overwatch League history, all three matches on February 1 ended with the winners sweeping the losers. The Fusion, just off the back of getting swept themselves by the Valiant, took Fuel to task to win 4-0. NYXL did the same to the now 1-6 Dragons. The most surprising, however, came from the Spitfire versus Dynasty game, where the Spitfire stunned with a 4-0 sweep against the Dynasty. Spitfire then claimed top spot in the league overall thanks to that performance.

All but three days of play have had at least one team be swept by the other, with two out of the total 16 days played in Stage 1 having a team win no maps in their match (On January 26, Fuel and Shock tied on Eichenwalde, resulting in neither team getting a point and a 3-0 final in Fuels’ favor.).

2018-01-27 / Photo: Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment

Uprising imminent?

Despite the Patriot’s loss last night in the Super Bowl, Boston still has a team that’s truly taken the “do your job” mantra to heart: the Boston Uprising. The Uprising have been the underdogs of the season, taking down some of the best in the league. In particular, their major upsets against the Spitfire in Week 3 and the LA Valiant this past week are highlights for the organization, bringing the team even closer to their goal of playoff contention.

They’re looking great for it, too: they’re currently fifth overall, surpassing the LA Valiant with that 4-0 sweep last week.

They’re not out of the woods yet, though: they still need to take on the Houston Outlaws and the Philadelphia Fusion, both of which have had amazing seasons thus far and have the same record as the Uprising. The Outlaws went toe-to-toe with Dynasty but had a record-setting 16 map win streak before that, sweeping the Dragons, Fuel, Mayhem, and Gladiators in a row. Fusion, meanwhile, also had major upsets of their own, besting NYXL in a 3-2 scoreline in Week 3.

2018-01-25 / Photo: Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment

The final countdown

With Week 5 starting in less than 48 hours, a few teams are completely out of the running for the playoffs in Stage 1 while others are clinging tight to their hopes and dreams.

According to the Overwatch League’s official website, Spitfire and NYXL have over 90% chance to make it to the finals; the rest of those still mathematically eligible fair far worse in the numbers game: Dynasty has a 58.3%, Valiant has 15.5%, Outlaws have 14.3%, Uprising has 13.9% and the Fusion have 12.9% to make it to those final games on Saturday and earn some of that $125,000 prize pool.